Abhishek Mishra rises as the star of 13th edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm 2015

Jaipur, March 1, 2015: In the grand finale, for the week long intensive and one of India’s longest and toughest Motorsport rally, Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, the participants ended the Leg 5 in the historical and beautiful city of Jaipur.  This year’s edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally started from New Delhi and traversed towards Rajasthan on 23rd February 2015 with 130 participants. Today, with the rally coming to an end, only 69 participants could make it to the finish line.  Covering approximately 2300 kms of western India, the rallyists competed against each other in challenging categories that were carried out in the rough terrains of Rajasthan. The rally started with great fervour and enthusiasm and covered some of the most scenic and historical cities and towns. The swiftest of the entire participant, Abhishek Mishra from Delhi, was declared winner of the ultimate face off. On the final day, the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rallyists raced towards Jaipur in their vehicles from Bikaner covering a distance of approximately 330 Kms.  The route was full of challenges and twists and unexpected desert rain which made the rally even more interesting for both, the rallyists and the spectators.  This year’s edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm kept the motorsports enthusiasts in the country glued to the scoreboard for each leg of the rally. Top honors of the rally went to Abhishek Mishra from Delhi and his navigator PVS Murthy driving a Grand Vitara in the XTreme category with a timing of 14:32:28 Hrs. Harpreet Bawa from Chandigarh and his navigator Ashwin Naik in their Vitara, grabbed the second position by clocking 15:05:09 Hrs followed by the team of Niju Padia of Bhavnagar and Shekhar V in their Pajero at 16:26:18 Hrs at the third position. Speaking of his win Abhishek Mishra said,” I am super thrilled at this victory. All the weeks hard work has been paid off. I am eagerly looking forward to next year’s rally’.  Speaking further he said, “it takes a lot of hard work, concentration and following the basic principles of safe driving to complete the rally”. In the NDure category, motorists traveled the same distance as XTreme teams but in the Time Speed Distance format in the Leg 5 of the event. Jaipur greeted its own boy Vishnu Singh and his navigator Adithya Anthony driving Vitara, as the winners with a day end penalty of 0:25:42 Hrs. Somdeb Chanda and Neerav Mehta from Kolkata at the third position in Gypsy at the day end penalty of 0:33:28 Hrs.  Sharavik Shah and Amit Kumar Saha in their Pajero bagged the third position with a day penalty of 0:34:18 Hrs In the Moto Quad category, CS Santosh showed his exemplary driving skills and passion and grabbed the first prize by clocking 1:29:59 Hrs . Jes David of Jaipur was no less than a winner, with a timing of 1:44:49 Hrs, he grabbed the second position. Mohit Verma continued to push himself to finish third with a total time of 2:04:58 Hrs. The winners were announced in a grand celebration, on the sixth and the final day at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur.  Mr. Manohar Bhatt, Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki said, “The participants did really well and increased the bar for the next rally. It indeed was a test of man and machine, which only few brave hearts were able to finish and win.” He further added, “It’s great to see the passion, for motorsport, which lies in their heart. Team Maruti Suzuki will always provide its motorists the best of the opportunities and vehicles to face such extreme sports. We hope to see all the daredevils to raise the bar higher. We will be back next year with another exciting and adrenaline pumping edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally. ” RESULTS AFTER LEG 5: XTreme Cars 1.       Abhishek Mishra & PV Srinivas Murthy – 14:32:28 Hrs 2.       Harpreet Bawa & Ashwin Naik – 15:05:09 Hrs 3.       Niju Padia & Shekhar V – 16:26:18 Hrs NDure Cars – End of Leg 5 1.       Vishnu Singh & Adithya Anthony – 0:25:42 Hrs 2.       Somdeb Chanda & Neerav Mehta – 0:33:28 Hrs 3.       Shravik Shah & Amit Kr Saha - 0:34:18 Hrs XPlore Cars- End of Leg 5 1.       Kartil Maruti &  Sankar Anand – 0:5:26 Hrs 2.       Subham Midha & Abhinav Kalra – 0:4:46 Hrs 3.       Anubhab De & Chandan Sen – 0:3:04 Hrs Moto Quad- 1.       CS Santhosh – 1:29:59 Hrs 2.       Jes David – 1:44:49 Hrs 3.       Mohit Verma – 2:4:58 Hrs